Match Reports

South Africa 36 England 27: Flying Boks catch tourists cold

The Springboks proved too hot for England to handle in the first half (David Rogers)

AN EXTRAORDINARY match — high altitude, high stakes, high drama. It began with
almost terrifying South African power, which threatened to inflict a defeat
of monumental proportions on England in front of a ranting Ellis Park.

It was as if the mascots had stayed on and the boys were playing men, with
England being tossed around like rag dolls. It was 28-10 early in the second
half and yet the Springboks could have been 40 ahead, with the
lightning-quick Marcell Coetzee in the back row providing the cutting edge
for a pack of beasts.

But then fast forward through a sweeping, fractured, bewildering game to deep
in the last quarter. Ellis Park was almost quiet, the Springboks were at a
standstill and holding on, as if George Foreman had dressed in Bok green and
given everything he had as England played rope-a-dope. It was 31-27, England
were even prospering in the